Mechanical telephone



Patented Nov. '7, 1882.

INVENTOR I WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HARVEY E. HUSTON, OF MONTIOELLO, ILLINOIS.

MECHANICAL TELEPHONE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,208, dated November7,1882. Application filed June 3, 1882. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY E. HUsToN, of Monticello, in the county ofPiattand State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and Improved MechanicalTelephone, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The objects of this invention are, first, to

allow the operator to remain in the same position while giving andreceiving messages, so as to avoid the necessity of alternately applyingmouth and ear to the instrument; and, sec 0nd, to eliminate thereverberations which take place in telephones in which the diaphragm isinclosed.

To these ends my invention consists in a diaphragm of dish form, fittedin an open stand, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved telephone-instrnment.Fig.2 is a transverse section of the same.

A is the diaphragm, of dish form, made preferably from a single piece ofthin metal pressed or spun to the shape shown. The bottom or base a ofthe diaphragm is fiat. Its sides I) are beveled or concaved outward fromthe bottom and their outer edges are formed with a narrow rim, 0.

The instrument is to be attached to the wall by screws inserted throughthe base. A similar instrument is to be placed at the point to which itis desired to communicate and the two connected by the line-wire, whichis to be drawn tightly. The call-button cis to be struck with a pencilor other hard substance, and the speaker, standing in front of theinstrument, talks directly into the dish-shaped diaphragm. The hearerstands in the same position.

It will be seen that the diaphragm is open at all sides, so thatreverberations against the sides of a sounding-box are avoided. Thepeculiar shape ofthe diaphragm is advantageous, for the reason that inspeakinginto the instrument the tones of the voice strike squarely andevenly upon the flat disk a, while in receiving a message this diskthrows the sound directly forward, while the concave or beveled sidesconcentrate and direct the sound inwardly to the ears of the receiver.Theinstrumentis also of simple and inexpensive construction.

1 am aware that diaphragms formed in one piece with the flaring sidesare not broadly new, and I am also aware that concave diaphragms haveheretofore been used; and I therefore do not claim such inventions.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent The combination, with the perforated base B and theposts d, secured thereto, of the diaphragm A, formed with the flat basea, the beveled or concaved sides I), and the perforated rim 0, thescrews g, and the packing h, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

HARVEY HUSTON.

Witnesses:

CHARLES BROWN, CHRISTIAN WENZEN OTH.

